If You Had Another Try
by random-gleekV
Summary: Ten years into the future, Kurt is still single and sad. And when his life starts to really fall apart, he comes across a Time Machine, which he uses to go back in time and mentor his younger self to try fix all of his mistakes with Blaine. Will he succeed? Collab with loquaciouslauryn
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**

**Hello! This is a collab fic with the wonderful ****_loquaciouslauryn_****. We'll be writing alertanating chapters. So this chapter was written by ****_random-gleekV._**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

It was the buzzer of the door that brought me back to life and away from the good novel I was reading.

It was the kind of night where I curled up with a book and a large mug of herbal tea, no one around to bother me.  
Of course, I guess someone can bother me because the buzzer sounded again, so I shuffled off the bed hurried across my apartment to the door. I peeked through the peep hole and saw Lauren, the building's super nice manager. She was short, had thin sandy brown hair and wide brown eyes. I opened the door but wasn't greeted by her normally warm smile.  
"Oh, good you're home" Lauren said. She bit her lip nervously.  
"Yes. Why? What's wrong?" I asked. I knew her pretty well, considering I had lived in the apartment for six years now. She was very kind and helpful.  
"It's Mrs. Cale" Lauren said as she stared into my eyes. Hers were sad and empty, which was unusual for her. She was normally happy and chatty. "Kurt, she died."  
I almost fell over.  
No. No, that couldn't be true.  
Mrs. Cale was the old widow from two floors down. We met in the building's elevator five years ago when I helped her with her groceries. After that, we became friends. I used to go over to her small apartment for lunch every Sunday. We used to swap stories and chat and eat. It was a lot of fun. She knew everything about me, as I openly told her everything there is to know. Even though she was in her early eighties, I never even thought about her death. I never even considered it. So now, it seemed like such a shock.  
"How?" I managed to squeak out.  
Lauren sighed sadly. "No reason. She just died of old age. It was this morning. She never answered the door this morning when I went up to see if she needed me to pick up some more bread for her while I was out on errands. No one had seen her leave the building, so I went in and found her dead on her arm chair."  
I closed my eyes and tried to stop the tears that built up in me.  
"Oh, Kurt" Lauren said and hugged me. She knew how close I was to Mrs. Cale.  
After three minutes in a hug, I decided that I just wanted to be alone.  
"Well, thanks for coming by to tell me, Lauren" I said as I awkwardly pulled back from the embrace. I stepped back into my apartment and tried to close the door.  
"Wait!" Lauren said. She stopped the door with her foot. "There's more." She gave me a small hint of a smile. "In her will, Mrs. Cale left you some things."  
"Really?" I asked. I can't imagine what. Her apartment is filled with pictures of her dead husband, ceramic cats and lots of knitting. As much as I liked Mrs. Cale, I didn't really want any of that stuff.  
"She left you anything in the apartment that you want. If you want it, it's yours. She also left you this" Lauren held up a small silver key.  
I took it into my hands.  
Before I could ask it, Lauren answered my question. "It's the key to a big box in the basement. She brought it with her when she moved in here. No one knows what's in it because she never opened it. Anyways, it's yours. She left it for you."  
My mind started to race with possibilities. What could be in the box?  
"Well, I'll be leaving now. Sorry about...everything. I'll be in the lobby if you wanna talk or anything" Lauren said. She gave me a small smile then walked away down the hall.  
I shut the door and only managed to wobble my way to my bed before I broke down in tears. She's gone. Mrs. Cale is gone. Forever.

* * *

The next morning, I awoke at a normal time. It took me a moment to realize why my face felt damp and why I hadn't changed out of my clothes from the day before. Then it hit me like a truck. Mrs. Cale. Dead.  
Thank goodness it was Saturday because I really couldn't go to work now.  
I worked as a costume designer for a small commercial company. We do commercials for businesses and without me, the actors would be naked. I'll admit, it isn't the best job in the world. Not for me, anyways. I had dreamed of Broadway in my younger years. But after a painful NYADA rejection, I went into the line of clothes. It didn't work out as planned but at least I'm still working with clothes.  
I live alone. I've been alone for years. My last boyfriend was one that I'll never forget. Blaine Anderson. But we broke up when... well, I really don't even want to think about it.  
I'd be lying if I said I was content. I miss having a hand to hold or someone to talk to about movies or music, something I never really talked about with Mrs. Cale. She's too old to comprehend Lady Gaga even though she always used to try to keep up with the times.  
I still talk to friends. I never lost touch with Mercedes or Tina or even Rachel. They're my gals. But they have lives too. And theirs are all more successful than mine. Tina's pregnant for crying out loud!  
And so, I spend my nights watching wedding TV shows and cooking dinner for one and reading sappy romance novels as a mere attempt to experience what true love is because I think I've forgotten.  
I thought I loved Blaine. I did. And...maybe I still do. But that's just me being stupid because last I heard from Tina, he had a new boyfriend. A real looker, too. I cried.

I get up from bed and change into clean clothes. A pair of dark skinny jeans and a plaid shirt. I fastened a small butterfly brooch on my shirt then fixed my hair. Even though no one sees me or even cares what I look like, I take pride in my appearance.  
I made some toast and quietly read some old magazine I had lying around. After that, I turned on my laptop.  
My eyes flickered though the list of unread emails. Mostly from work telling me what I need to plan for. I skipped those. It's my day off, after all.  
Then I saw it. It was an email from Rachel. What caught my eye, however, was the subject line: BLAINE.  
I slowly clicked it.  
She wrote one line of casual conversation, asking if I'm well and how she thought I should take a look at what she got.  
So I opened the picture attachment and nearly collapsed again.  
Rachel had emailed me an invitation she had received. It was from Blaine, an invite to his wedding.  
Anger took over. I deleted her email and picture right away. I slammed my laptop shut and lay on the couch. Tears fell from my eyes. Between the death of Mrs. Cale and Blaine's wedding, in the matter of one day, it seems as though my life has fallen apart.  
At first I was mad at Rachel for even getting invited. But it wasn't her fault that she still had some contact with him. Then I was angry at Rachel for even sending it to me. But then I realized that if I had to hear the news from someone, it might as well be her. She didn't mean harm when she sent it.  
Then I was angry at Blaine. How come I wasn't invited? But then I decided that even if I was invited, I wouldn't go. Why would I torture myself and go watch my old high school sweetheart tie the knot with some other guy?  
It got to the point where I was just angry at myself. Here I was at the ripe age of 28 and had nothing important in my life. Sure, I had friends and family, but they aren't exactly next door and I only see them on holidays where the fun atmosphere seems a bit forced.

* * *

The rest of the day was spent on the couch watching whatever was on TV. I only got up three times; one to get food, one to use the bathroom and one to get new batteries for the TV remote.  
I fell asleep on the couch that night.

* * *

The next morning, I woke up late. It was almost ten thirty when I got up. I felt the sadness all over again as I remembered that if Mrs. Cale was still alive, I'd be heading to her place in an hour for lunch.  
Now, for the first time in five years, I eat Sunday lunch alone.  
After a pathetic meal of a handful of almonds and half a banana, I decided that I might as well do the inevitable, which was going to Mrs. Cale's apartment. I could take anything I wanted in there. Anything at all.  
I walked over and opened the door, which Lauren had left unlocked for me. It looked like it always did, but I could feel the emptiness. I almost changed my mind and left, but it had to be done. I poked around and after three hours, I left her apartment with a set of teacups, a few books, an iron and some other little things. Back in my apartment, I set the box of my new items on the table, when I see the small silver key that Lauren gave me.  
As much as I was tired and just wanted to sit down and read, curiosity took over. I grabbed the key and hurried down to the basement. People in my building are allowed to keep stuff down there. Some people do, but I have nothing that doesn't fit in my apartment. I guess that's one positive of living alone.  
I found the large crate that had Mrs. Cale's name on it. It was about the size of a small car and I'm not even sure how it got down there. Most people store their winter wardrobe down here or something of the sort. Sure enough, there was a lock on the crate. I put the key in and turned it. The lock, which I'm guess was kind of old, took a lot of jiggling to get open. Finally, it snapped off and I was able to get the wooden boards off easily. What I saw was unlike anything I've ever seen. I had no idea what it was. It was a machine of some sort. There were wires and antennas and lights and other tech stuff all over it. There was a seat on it that looked like a really comfy bike seat or a really uncomfortable office chair. In front of the seat was a screen. It was shut off and it had a bunch of knobs under it.  
Overall, this odd contraption looked like a really bulky and square motorcycle. It was like a roofless, one seat golf-cart that carried a bunch of machines and wiring in the front and back.  
But no matter what it resembled, I didn't understand why Mrs. Cale wanted me to have it. But Mrs. Cale was smart; She must have had a reason to leave me this.  
I sat down on the seat. Then I noticed something. In front of me, under the screen and its dials, was a small slot where a dusty book was. Not a reading book, an instruction manual.  
I pulled it out and turned it over so I could read the title. At last, I could find out what this hunk of metal was.  
I almost fell off that seat when I read the title of the booklet.  
'Owner's Guide For Time Machines'.

* * *

**A/N**

**Ooooh suspence! But don't worry, ****_loquaciouslauryn_****'s chapter will be up tomorrow! And can I just say, it's awesome!**

**So let us know what you think! :) Luv ya****_!_**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**

**This, our dear readers, is Chapter 2 written by ****_loquaciouslauryn_****. Hope you like it!**

* * *

I read the title over and over again. 'Owner's Guide For Time Machines'. There was no way. There was no way Mrs. Cale left me a Time Machine in her will. There was no way she even had a time machine. This wasn't real. This is impossible. I threw myself off the seat and simply stared at the piece of metal in the middle of the apartment basement like it was on fire.

"No." I said out loud to myself.

"No, this isn't happening." I mumbled. I looked at the machine once more before I ran for my life and out of the basement. I ran up to my apartment and slammed the door a little bit too hard behind me. My breath heavy, my heart racing, I sat on my bed. Despite the burning sensation in them, my eyes were popping out of my head. How could Mrs. Cale have left me a Time Machine? She died and she left me a Time Machine she never even told me about? What if the time machine works? What if I could use it to change…. No. I stopped my thoughts dead in their tracks. No. I'm not about to believe this machine actually worked. That's impossible.

There's no such thing as time travel. I took a deep breath and rubbed my eyes.

"I need a shower." I mumbled out loud to myself. I stood up from my bed and rubbed my eyes once more. I walked into the bathroom of my apartment and shut the door behind me so I could shower. All I could hope for was the hot water to wash all the pain and all the failure and all of the recent things I had heard. Only if…..

* * *

I woke up the next morning to the obnoxious beep of my alarm clock. I groaned and hit the snooze bar. I rubbed my eyes and stretched my limbs to stretch the muscles that lay limp for many hours of the night. I rolled over and reached for my iPhone off of the nightstand. I unlocked the screen and checked my email. The first message in my inbox was another email from Rachel, with the same subject line. I felt butterflies flutter in my stomach. I clicked on the email and waited impatiently for the message to load.

'_Dear Kurt,_

_ Blaine asked me to pass on the invitation to you too….if you wanted to go._

_ Xoxo Rachel_''

I groaned out loud. This was not happening. My high school sweet heart, the man I was still thought to be in love with, invited me to his wedding with another guy! I wanted to cry, I wanted to scream, I wanted to break something, but I couldn't do anything. I felt numb. I rolled out of bed and got ready for my day and tried to shake off the dreaded email that started it. I knew for a fact, however, it was to be a long one.

In an hour's time, I sat behind a small desk and was debating costumes for the main actor in the next commercial shoot we were doing. I sighed and set down the two model pictures on the desk. As if on cue, my phone rang and I picked it up.

"This is Kurt Hummel speaking" I said professionally into the phone.

"Kurt?" a feminine voice said, who I was quick to label as Rachel

"No, it's the frickin' Pope. Yes, it's Kurt" I said blatantly. I was trying to get rid of the morning's memories, so Rachel was the last person I wanted to talk to. She sighed on the other line of the phone

"How are you doing?"

"How do you think?" I asked bitterly.

"Kurt, come on."

"I'm doing awfully. Mrs. Cale is dead, Blaine is getting married, he now invited me to that wedding, I'm single and alone and still in love with him and this all just sucks." I complained.

"Come on, Kurt, it's going to be okay."

"No, Rachel, it's not this time. I screwed up at life, okay? I'm a failure."

"Kurt Hummel, you listen to me. You are not a failure. You have a job, you have an apartment, and so what, you're single, no big deal. You have nothing weighing you down, Kurt. You are not a failure."

"Rachel, do you remember senior year? We were both going to go to NYADA. I was with Blaine, you were with Finn, and we were happy. We were in Glee, we had plans for a bright future. Well, as much as it worked out for you, Rachel, it didn't for me. This is not how I pictured my life." I complained. There was silence on Rachel's side of the line.

"So I guess now is a bad time to tell you that Blaine asked for your phone number and he will be calling you?"

I banged my head on the desk.

"Why, Rachel? Why the hell would you do that?" I said. I wanted to curl up in a ball and cry; that's all I really wanted anymore.

"He just said he wanted to talk to you. He's in the area and he wanted to meet with you" Rachel answered, her voice a few octaves higher than normal.

"Look, whatever, Rachel. I got to go, okay?" I said to her as I eyed the two costume photos on my desk.

"Alright Kurt. Call me if you need anything, alright?"

"Yes, Rachel. Bye." I said before I hung the phone back up and slammed my head on my desk.

"Why me?" I practically yelled. I sighed into my desk and looked at the photos I had to choose from. I simply picked the one on the left, threw it in a folder, and left the office. It's not like they really needed me today, anyways.

* * *

My phone went off and I sighed as I put my bookmark in the pages of my novel. I furrowed my eyebrow at the unknown number on my phone, and I answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hi, is this Kurt Hummel?" a lower voice asked

"Yes, it is."

"Hi, Kurt, this is Blaine Anderson" the voice said.

I felt my chest sink. I felt tears immediately weld up in my eyes.

"Hi, Blaine!" I said in the cheeriest voice I could pull off

"I hope you don't mind, Rachel gave me your number" he said

"No I don't mind at all" I replied.

"Well, um, I'm in the city this week, so I wanted to know if you wanted to get coffee or something, I wanted to meet up with you again. It's been a while" Blaine said with a nervous laugh at the end.

I paused for a moment. I didn't know if I was ready for this. I didn't know if I was ready to see Blaine, my ex-boyfriend, who was about to get married to another man. No, I wasn't ready for this.

"Sure, I'd love to." I said into the phone. Shit. Way to go, Hummel.

"That's great, Kurt! Awesome! Let's meet on Saturday, why don't we? Any good shops?" He asked

"Uhmm, there's one a couple blocks away from my apartment, I'll email you the directions. I have your email from Rachel" I said to him, my heart still beating way too fast.

"Sounds great, Kurt. See you then!" He said in a peppy tone. I heard the call end, and I immediately burst into tears. What was I thinking? I wasn't ready for this! I threw my phone across the room and hugged my knees, as I sobbed into the caps. I'd like to know what I did to deserve this.

* * *

On normal weeks, I would beg for Friday and Saturday to arrive, but this week was no ordinary week. This week I begged for Mondays to start over, and I dreaded the weekend. I was not ready to meet with Blaine. I was not ready for him to see my life is a pathetic failure, and then worst of all, have him take pity on me. I was not ready to hear Blaine ramble on and on about the love of his life, and how they were going to get married and have stupid little children running around at their feet. I wanted to get married and have stupid little children running around my feet with Blaine.

Since time does not like to work in my favor, the week went by faster than any week I had ever lived to see. Saturday morning came, and I awoke with a groan. I thought of calling Blaine and telling him I was sick, and we'd have to meet the next time we were in, but I decided against it. I couldn't lie to Blaine, not after everything we had gone through. I spent an extra bit of time on my appearance than I normally would, and with a sigh, I was out the door of my apartment and on my way to meet with the one and only Blaine Anderson.

When I arrived at the shop, I saw Blaine wasn't there yet, so I ordered what we did back in high school and found a table for two near the window. I heard the bell at the door go off as it opened, and I looked up to see who I was waiting for. I sighed at how beautiful he still was. He look a little bit older, but his hair still was curly and brown without a strand of grey, his body still in shape and fit (and short), his face still smooth, but with a little bit of stubble which looked absolutely amazing on him, and a small pair of square glasses for his vision. He looked around the coffee shop, as if he was in search of someone, and when his eyes landed on me, he smiled.

"Kurt!" He yelled excitedly from across the shop. I slapped a fake smile on my face and stood up from my seat.

"Hi Blaine." He walked over to me and wrapped me in a hug, one that I absolutely melted in. God, I missed Blaine hugs. All too quickly, Blaine pulled away and smiled at me

"Wow, Kurt, you look great!" Blaine said with a smile. I blushed, just like Blaine used to make me in high school.

"Thank you, as do you."

We both stood silently in front of one another, until I spoke again.

"Um, I kind of just bought you what we had in high school, I hope you don' t mind" I said to the floor.

"A Medium drip! Oh my God, I haven't had one of those in forever" Blaine smiled. I smiled at him.

"You used to get grand Non Fat Mocha, didn't you?" Blaine asked. I felt my heart flutter with hope at the fact that Blaine still remembered our coffee orders. Stop it, Hummel. He's engaged.

"I did" I said with a small smile and a nod of my head. Blaine took a sip of his coffee and practically moaned.

"Oh my God, I forgot how good these tasted. I might have to switch my coffee order again." Blaine said with a wink. I smiled, and sipped on my coffee.

"So how you've been?" Blaine asked, his hands clasped around his coffee cup.

I sighed. Of course I was going to lie to him.

"I've been doing great, I've got my own little apartment, I've got a good job, I've been doing well" I half truthed. Blaine smiled

"That's fantastic, Kurt! What are you working as?"

"I'm a costume manager for a company that helps corporations shoot commercials" I said. Blaine smiled

"I'm sure you're amazing at it" He grinned.

"How about you?"

"Well, I'm in New York, but still a couple hours out from the city. I'm moving up in the law firm, so that's good. I've moved in with Brandon for now, but we're probably going to get a bigger place once we get married" He stated. I felt my stomach flop.

"Well, that's good. Congratulations on the engagement, by the way" I tried to say in a voice as cheerfully as possible. Blaine smiled.

"Thanks, I'm excited" Blaine said. I sipped on my coffee as there was another silence between us.

"So are you seeing anyone?" Blaine asked quietly. I scanned his glossy, brown eyes that showed the emotions of interest, concern, and was that… sadness? I gulped down another sip of coffee and sighed

"No, I'm not. I've been single since we broke up." I admitted. He smiled sympathetically, though I did not want any.

"You will, Kurt, I know you will. You are an amazing man, and any guy would be lucky to have you" He said. I smiled, though really, all I wanted to do was cry.

"Thanks, Blaine" was the only thing I could reply. He smiled and sipped on his coffee.

Blaine moved on to a lighter subject, but I couldn't help but feel my heart was ripped out of my chest. I didn't want 'any other guy'. I still really loved Blaine, and that idea became more apparent to me as we conversed more and more. And while I still felt the spark, I couldn't help but feel a zap of pain when I remembered Blaine didn't feel that spark with me anymore, but with some other guy named Brandon.

* * *

After an hour or so, we parted ways and I was left to myself at the coffee shop table once more. I crossed my arms on the table and rested my head in them as I tried so desperately to hold back my tears. I sighed and got up from the table to throw away my cup and walk out of the shop, feeling more alone and more of a failure than I ever had before.

I walked back the couple blocks to my apartment, my thoughts all about Blaine. I spent most of the trip wiping away stray tears that I could no longer hold back. I wanted nothing more than to go home, curl up in a ball and stay there, completely cut off from society for the rest of the day.

I finally got to the apartment tower and walked into the lobby. I turned and saw the door to the basement, and I remembered what Mrs. Cale had left me in there. I stopped and stared at the door for a moment. There was a time machine in there. I was single, I had a lame job, and there was little or no hope for me in life. It was crazy, it was insane, but it could work. If the time machine worked, I could go back in time to when Blaine and I were together. I could fix all of the problems that led to our breakup, and maybe, by some chance, Blaine and I could still be together. It was greedy, it was so wrong, but it was all so right. I had nothing to lose.

I walked over to the door and down into the basement to see the giant hunk of metal sitting idly by. I walked over to it and sat on the seat once more. I slowly and shakily grabbed the book from its little holder and blew the dust off of the pocket manual with a little bit of breath. The letters that spelled the title were typed in very boxy lettering, as though it was typed with a typewriter. The pages were fragile and old, and I held the book in my hand like it was a rare and precious gem. And perhaps, it was just that. It could be all I needed to get everything I wanted my life to be back. I had nothing to lose, it was worth a shot.

* * *

**A/N**

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